Bell Canada launches wireless broadband

Bell Canada launched a new wireless broadband service Friday with plans to take it nationwide.

The Sympatico High Speed Unplugged service is available in urban and rural areas of Canada and will be available at speeds up to 3 megabits per second in more than two-thirds of the country within three years.

The initial launch includes a number of widely scattered major cities, including Montreal, Toronto, Edmonton, St. John's and Whitehorse.

The service will be carried over the network run by Inukshuk Wireless, a joint venture between Bell Canada and Rogers Communications.

The 3 Mbps service is priced at $60 per month and requires a $99 modem with a two-year service contract. A 512 kilobits-per-second option is available at $45 per month.

The head of Bell Canada's Internet services, Charlotte Burke, said in a news release that the service would be expanded in the near future with "a full suite of value-added services."

Copyright 2006 by United Press International